Queens Teacher Removed Over Racy Assignment

Somehow, 'The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow' Got Shelved By Sub

October 5, 2010 6:03 PM

Student Giavanna Grasso (credit: CBS 2)

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NEW YORK (CBS 2) — On Monday night a mom couldn’t believe her daughter’s shocking homework assignment. On Tuesday she went to the school demanding answers.

And, as CBS 2’s John Slattery reports, the teacher who assigned the reading is now out of the classroom.

Angry parents met with officials at Robert Goddard High School in Ozone Park, Queens, concerned over a teacher’s assignment which they thought was far too racy.

“They were appalled when they were reading it. They were like, ‘Whoaaaa!’” parent Melissa Naprawa said.

Her daughter, 16-year-old Giavanna Grasso, was supposed to be reading “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” for her honors writing class. Instead, a long-term substitute teacher, Nancy Filingeri, assigned a passage from the book “The Rules of Attraction” by Bret Easton Ellis, a novel spiced up with curse words and sexually explicit language.

“The homework was to find the most descriptive parts. The only descriptive parts were the parts where they were doing sexual things,” Grasso said.

A review by Publishers Weekly called the book “…adolescent fantasy of sex…” that “…manages to pack in a suicide, assorted suicide attempts, an abortion, and the death of a parent.”

The Department of Education said it was not on the class syllabus that includes works by Edgar Allen Poe and Ray Bradbury.

The book was made into a movie in 2002.

Giavanna’s mother found the passage inappropriate for 11th grade.

“I just don’t understand where the teacher’s head was in this when she assigned this,” Naprawa said.

The teacher was not at school Tuesday and was not at her home on Staten Island, where her father said he was unaware of the controversy.

“I don’t know anything about it. She didn’t talk to me at all,” Vito Filingeri said.

The Department of Education said that teacher will not be returning to that school and that her future remains unclear. The DOE also said the principal was unaware of the unauthorized assignment, which the teacher came up with on her own.

Queens Teacher Removed Over Racy Assignment

http://sangpenjelajahmalam.wordpress.com Sang Penjelajah Malam

Nice to meet u
MissJusticeNY

Not for nothing, but this girl is an 11th grader, not a 6th grader. When I heard this report, I couldn’t help but be skeptical. At 16, I am sure she has had friends who have been sexually active(she probably has been as well). 11th graders in high school are no prudes and she needs to stop acting like this really made her “blush.” In high school, I read catcher in the rye (10th grade), no one complained or cried that it was inappropriate. I agree with what someone else said, I think the mom is just looking for a lawsuit…
alfamagnate

It is always better to be the elephant than the rat
adam

“explained 16-year-old Giavanna Grasso, who was embarrassed to even repeat phrases from a book she was assigned” Embarrassed??? Of What?? Its not like she hasent said or done any of the things in the book. Her family just wants their 15 minutes of fame.
Parent

Has this mother ever called the news to compliment a teacher or just to complain. More attention and monetary value in complaining.
Kinda

Please that child is more expose to crude and vulgar language just walking out the door or jumping the train…..parents just looking to cash in on the situation.
A Miamiam

People you have no right to complain because you voted for these democrats and liberals. These people want to take your Constitutional rights rights away and at the same time they want to legalize drugs and free more repeat offenders from jails. I am not surprised they want young children to read about gay sex, sex, Prostitution and the rest of it.

joe

What does this reply have anything to do with the story at hand. This is how things get more out of control by bringing up stuff that has nothing to do with this story. It’s a book were talking about last I remembered.

School employees

I hope she was or is a model student in that school before all this publicity was put on TV. The littlest thing wrong in that school is could get her in trouble. All eyes will be upon her now. What a shame.
Gabrielle

Another sad case of blaming the victims. THIS is why so many people do not reach out when they feel there is something wrong! All the assumptions made by the majority of the commentators are sickening. It was refreshing to hear from the girl’s aunt.

adam

oh shut up. people like you are the reason why schools are always so uptight about what to read and what not to read.

Len

Parents have a right to monitor what their children are being asked to read. Schools are not the final arbiters of a student’s morality, its the parents who are charged with that responsibility. I hope more parents are as vigilant as this one.

Len

Amen. You are so right.
Amazed

Did the Aunt tell you that she is pregnant too? Yes very refreshing isn’t it….

A.Grasso

This student is my niece and I am a teacher in the NYC public schools. First of all, you people should read the book first. The language is vulgar and quite explicit. It is not material for a high school english class. The fact that kids are unfortuanately exposed to explicit language in the street is no excuse for making such material mandatory reading. Second of all, her mother is remarried, hence the different names. I guess I am to assume that none of the individuals posting come from a divorced home and if so must be receiving public assistance. You assumptions are ridiculous and just plain nasty. Let’s see how you feel when your child comes home with what my niece was given. It would be nice for teachers to receive some positive feedback from parents, but not this particular teacher.

Teacher

I can’t wait till you make a mistake in your teaching carrier so we can all call the news so you can see how it feels. Usually a parent will call the school office first to get an answer, then if that doesn’t work go higher up. How come the mother never called the news to compliment any teacher in the school for doing a good job. That’s right, the news and general public doesn’t care about that. There is no money in the right job from lawsuits. I hope her friends and teachers still trust this attention getting student looking for popularity after all this. I know I wouldn’t.

NY Teacher

The mothers actions were EXTREME! They should have waited to talk to someone the next morning. Now a teacher has lost their job and students have lost a good teacher. In addition, the girl is gonna be frowned upon by teachers and students in the school! The family should be ASHAMED!!!
Amazed

you should ask her what grade the Aunt and the grandmother teaches. Guarantee they have never taught a classroom, not even once. Oh and did you know that the student mentioned in the above article is pregnant.

mama

This was NOT part of the curriculum!!!! If the mom had waited and spoke to the administration the next day she would have known this. As a teacher in the public school system you should be embarassed that they went to the news first. You of all people should realize how hard city teachers and staff work and they deserve the respect of being approached first, BEFORE the media is brought in. Goddard is a fabulous school and dragging its name through the media did a huge disservice to the administration, the teaching staff, and most unfotunately the students. T
adam

if and when you learn to read, give the book a try before you start running your mouth.
R.K.SHARMA

Dear A.Grasso,

Very well said, So long this episode has happened I am in line with you, student and her mother, can understand the reactions/embarrasements faced by both of them. In individual capacity we do come across some knowledge which is unavoidable as per the social evils, wheather we approve or not. This is no criteria that someone shall fall in line like that.

Teachers are also human being, and do have all sorts of traits in general. The serious concern is that a teacher by choice is architact of the personality of the future society. I find the fault as below:-

The educational environment of the Institute of teacher’s training.
The environment in which teacher has been brought up.
The sexual frustration in the life of teacher.
The bad company.

Unfortunately the culture and social structure is also very important for such incidences, with the limited action without removing the cause of such evils visible on large scale some are noticed yet a majority unreported/absorbed by the victims.

I do not approve the media angle, it is a total collapsed system fordevelopment.

mgrttchal.
Len

Thanks for standing up for your niece. Some of the comments are so vile and disgusting, it’s downright disgusting. Best wishes to your family as you try to solve this problem.
T.Scott

I would have to agree here with the Aunt. First of all, this text should not have been given as part of the school curriculum. There are many disturbing words, scenes, and instances in this book that could have just been avoided by not assigning the text. If you have children of your own, as I do, you would understand that you want to protect them in every instance possible. They grow up entirely too fast on their own, and in the public school systems, as it is! Not all people are lucky enough to have been raised by the mother and father who gave birth to them. Hence the name difference. I also agree that the mother should and could have waited to discuss this problem with the school before going public, but can you really blame her? I would have also been outraged to have my daughter come home with material such as this!

Amazed

Did you know that the student mentioned in the above article is well over 6 months pregnant too?

ZUANETTE

I BET ALMOST THE ENTIRE CLASS KNEW WHAT THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT IN THE BOOK.. 11TH GRADE ITS NOT PRE-K.
Mish

You should be ashamed of yourselves – bad mouthing a mother for doing what she had to do to protect her child! I have children of my own and if either one of them came home with this sort of reading material, I’d react the same way. The actions of the teacher were inexcusable. As a teacher, she should have known better. Gia is a MINOR and if I’m correct, handing out pornography to a MINOR is a crime. Was this point forgotten? I know Gia’s family and trust me – all of them have class and intelligence… unlike many of the posters here.

Anna

Seriously, PORNOGRAPHY? It’s a work of literature. Sometimes racy things are written. Bret Easton Ellis isn’t telling kids to go crazy and have wild drugged-out sex. If anything, this book is a cynical view of the casual sex culture. Try reading the erotica of Anais Nin – who, by the way, was writing in the 1940s. The woman was elected to the US National Institute of Arts and Letters.

(And by the way – distributing porn isn’t illegal, unless it CONTAINS a minor in the film. Most young boys learn about sex from porn anyway, probably due to uptight parents like you who aren’t open enough to talk honestly about sexuality and would rather shut your eyes and pretend like teen sex doesn’t happen. It does. Deal with it.)
Michelle

Just curious as to whether or not you actually are familiar with this book. I’ve read it, and it isn’t pornography. Secondly, how is a mother protecting her daughter by putting her in the center of a media spectacle? People are bound to have controversial opinions on this, and, if they don’t want to hear opposing views on their actions, they shouldn’t have done the dramatic thing and gone straight to the media. If she was concerned, she could have handled this privately without putting her daughter in the limelight.
Amazed at Stupidity

Did the family mention to you that she is pregnant? Would you feel the same way now? And what grade(s) do the Aunt and Grandmother teach since you know the family?

Wendy

How come no one ever calls the news to compliment a great teacher or school. It’s always about a problem about a teacher or school. The is no lawsuit money in complimenting a great teacher or school. Move on. You could have called the school office in the morning to correct the problem. It’s all about your on 30 seconds of TV reality time and money. Get over this. It’s not like your daughter hasn’t used any foul language when she is not around you. She’s no angel.

adam

Amen Wendy, Amen.
Michelle

I second the Amen below!!!

Larry

Can any one explain to us why she couldn’t wait to the next morning to call to straighten this out? Money!!! Lawsuit!!! Get a job!!! Get off section 8 income!!!

adam

Another group of ILLEGALS trying to make money.

Brian

I guess this mother thinks the news and a lawsuit is the answer to this problem. A phone call to the office in the morning would have solve the problem. The principle has nothing better to do than answer to reports all day instead of taken care of the school. It is a useless lawsuit looking time wasting way of getting your 30 seconds of TV reality time. Get a job and an education and stop living off the cities money to pay your rent. Your names don’t match so you can get more money from the city? Try a job. It works for everyone else. If you thing your daughter doesn’t hear or talk foul language outside then you need a wake up call. She is 16. She has heard it all. Playing dumb is not an excuse. This is a good school that really tries hard to teach a care for the students. They don’t need or deserve all this publicity over a under educated mother looking to make money over a book in school. Why don’t you sue so that all our taxes go ever higher to pay ever more money to support your family. How about getting a job so we can pay less taxes. I like this one better. I thing the city should look into your background thoroughly to see how you actually support yourself and your daughter and take it away.
Kevin

I guess this kid doesn’t watch TV at home or go to movies. I guess she has never heard foul language in her life. I guess she doesn’t watch any of those reality show on TV. I don’t thing so. This is everyday life hearing foul language or seeing it on TV. The city doesn’t need another useless time wasting lawsuit. It could have been handled at the school the next morning. I was wondering why the last names don’t match? Is that to get more money for section 8 income? I can tell the mother is educated “Disgustedness” is not a word. Get a job and stop living off the cities money!
Tom

This problem could have waited for the next morning to call the school office and speak to the principal. I hate when people go looking for lawsuits for no reason. Last names don’t match. Curious, Section 8 income family? Get a job and stop looking for easy money that only makes the city charge us more to cover all the law suites that are paid out. I hope this child is not made fun of or teased for being a rat in school. No one is going to trust her from her friends to the teachers now. She be removed from the school for being a trouble maker. This is way out of control.
mama

The children were not given this book to read and it is NOT part of the curriculum!! The substitute teacher deviated from the syllabus (which called for Edgar Allen Poe by the way) and photocopied portions of the book. The Parent should have waited to speak to the administration before going to the media. WHo does that??? SHe was so offended by the language that she invited cameras into her home to interview her daughter re:that same language on national t.v.. ARe u kidding me?? This smells like an opportunist looking for her 10 minutes of fame and a quick lawsuit.!!!!!!!

ZUANETTE

AGREE WITH YOU
Michelle

100% agree! Besides, if she was such a great mom, I don’t think she’d be so absolutely threatened by a work of literature. She’d have enough confidence in her parenting to trust that her daughter will not be shaken by a racy novel. She’s just a troublemaker looking for a problem. If she were really looking out for her daughter, she’d focus on more important things, like not putting her at the center of a media spectacle.

jason

Mothers name and daughters name don’t match. Smell like a section 8 family. She could have waited for the next morning to call the school office to let them know about the book. It feels like someone wants there moment of fame or a lawsuit income. How about getting a job or two they way everyone else does to make a living.

Len

What the heck does Section 8 have to do with this issue. Your comments smack of an elitist, snobby attitude which adds nothing to the discussion.

BJ

The Mom is right and everyone needs a Mom like this one. She was not ‘looking’ for a lawsuit when she found a book full of defilement, she was looking to protect her child. I hope she sues and get a big settlement because that should send a message to anyone wanting to corrupt the minds of young people. When a school assignment involves such a book, the school becomes an accomplice to the moral corruption.
mom

My daughter is reading a book called WINTERS BONE.
This book is about a Dad who sells and cooks METH and the problems she has because of it. There’s bad language and sexual content.
She is in 10th grade. I am not happy with the choice of book and agree with Brad.There are so many great books to read..why do we need to go there.

Lit teacher

Yeah, 10th grade girls are still in the land of stuffed animals!! Well, actually, the world of a 10th grader is pretty sexualized–why shouldn’t students read something that reflects their day to day experience? The world is (and has never been) all puppy dogs and rainbows. Why not read Winter’s Bone and discuss it with your daughter? It may open up a door through which you can understand her perceptions of the world.

JayZee

Hmmm by saying “she’s already been exposed to it’ sounds like she is trying to drum up a lawsuit. I mean why else run straight to the news instead of waiting until the administrators were in to discuss the matter?

Rich

Should the teacher have given it as a assignment? Probably not but this is just a family looking to get a lawsuit plain and simple.This girl is claiming that she has never been exposed to this stuff and the word diaphragm offends her!! I am a 20 year old college student and went to a Queens school trust me the word diaphragm is nothing.I do not know this girl but im sure if they put a secret camera on her for 30 minutes you would hear things a billion times worse like Jayzee said shes just looking to make some money out of this.

Winie

so true!

brad

Could another book have found its way on the reading assignment list, like “The Great Gatsby”, “The Sun Also Rises”, or maybe “The Bonfire of the Vanities”? I get the impression that teachers are becoming as stupid as the students and their parents.

Maria

I would like to clarify that the “teacher” was a substitute teacher. That means she probably did not have a teaching certification and she may not have ever received any teaching credentials whatsoever. In most school districts, almost anyone who can pass an FBI background check can substitute teach. This woman is more than likely NOT a teacher!

Lee

The book is a classic Ellis novel, but I wouldn’t let a group of high school students read it. It sounds like the teacher was trying to be “racy,” but at what cost? The book has a very graphic suicide scene in it, and the sexuality in the book is quite explicit.
Peter

Yes, well, who said teachers are the least but literate. And most parents? They probably never got past grade 5.

Bill H

Peter, most good parents have to work successful jobs to properly take care of their children. Ergo, we have the majority of undergraduate degrees. I’ll bet you never graduated from high school.

Denise

Way to go Mom!!!!
Charlie

“Disgustedness?” I think the word is “disgust.”

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Queens Teacher Removed Over Racy Assignment

Somehow, 'The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow' Got Shelved By Sub

October 5, 2010 6:03 PM

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